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The Kennesaw State football team has now earned their welcome to Conference USA and FBS moment, by completing its biggest upset in program history.
Entering their Wednesday night showdown winless and as an astonishing 27.5-point underdog, the Owls shocked previously unbeaten Liberty 27-24. More uncanny for the first-time Conference USA member? Liberty had never lost in the regular season since 2022, as noted by On3.com's Hayes Fawcett.
Liberty produced a 13-1 regular season in its first campaign as a CUSA member. New Mexico State represented the last team to knock off the Flames before bowl season — which was on Nov. 26, 2022 and during a time Liberty was independent.
Kennesaw State is making the jump from the Football Championship Subdivision to CUSA. Things got off to a rough early start for KSU, as the Owls lost all six of their games by nine points or more.
But now the Georgia university witnessed a different euphoria. Head coach Brian Bohannon couldn't contain his own excitement with the history-making moment for the Owls. He boldly asked, “How about the freakin' Owls baby?”
The Owls' X (formerly known as Twitter) account chimed in with its own excited energy — posting “extinguished” in its photo caption.
How did Kennesaw State pull the upset off?
The Owls kept the action close throughout the night. Both teams scored once in each of the first two quarters. However, KSU ended up outscoring the Flames 13-10 in the second half.
And Kennesaw State accomplished the stunning upset on a night Liberty dominated some field statistics.
The Flames gained more first downs than Liberty with a ratio of 22:18. The Flames aggressively went for it on fourth down five times, converting on three tries. Kennesaw State finished with a 0-for-1 fourth down conversion rate.
Liberty even outgained KSU 386-323 in total yards. However, the Owls delivered the better time of possession at 32:19 compared to 27:41. KSU drew fewer penalties at six compared to Liberty's nine. Lastly, KSU won the turnover battle by collecting the lone interception of the night via Tyler Hallum.
While Hallum spearheaded the defense, Davis Bryson emerged as an efficient throwing in completing 16 of his 20 pass attempts. He ended the night with 189 yards and a touchdown toss to Christian Moss. Running backs Michael Benefield and Qua Ashley laid the groundwork for KSU, combining for 106 yards and scoring one time each. Ashley scored the last touchdown of the night for the Owls off a six-yarder.
Not only did the Owls shake up the college football world, but more than likely rattled Liberty's College Football Playoff hopes.
Liberty was in play to become the highest-ranked Group of Five representative for the new 12-team format, as noted by Nick Schultz of On3.com. Boise State out of the Mountain West Conference, UNLV from the same conference, and the American Athletic Conference's nationally ranked teams Army and Navy all joined Liberty as Group of Five teams in the running for one of the spots.
But Kennesaw State watched a sea of yellow and black flood its home field in jubilation. The Owls earned a historic first-ever FBS win and victory in CUSA while ruining Liberty's CFP hopes.
